Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to an electronic control system for controlling the operation of one or more tubular handling tools. Embodiments of the invention relate to an electronic interlock for a tubular handling system for performing tubular handling operations.
Description of the Related Art
It is known in the drilling industry to use a top drive system on a drilling rig for rotating a tubular or tubular string for making up or breaking out tubular connections while drilling a well and for installing the casing after the well is drilled. Top drive systems are equipped with a motor to provide torque for rotating the tubulars, and may be equipped with a tubular gripping tool to facilitate the handling of the tubulars. During a tubular makeup/breakout operation, the top drive works in tandem with a spider provided at the rig floor. While handling a string of tubulars suspended from a drilling rig, either the top drive, an elevator attached to the top drive, or the spider must be engaged with the tubular string to prevent the string from falling into the well.
Typically, an operator located on the platform controls the top drive, elevator, and the spider with manually operated levers that control fluid power to the slips that cause the top drive/elevator and spider to retain the tubular string. At any given time, the operator can inadvertently drop the tubular string by moving the wrong lever. Conventional interlocking systems based around hydraulic or pneumatic circuits have been developed and used with elevator/spider systems to address this problem.
There is a need for a more sophisticated interlock system for use with one or more tubular handling tools to prevent inadvertent release of a tubular or tubular string.